Some of the announcements that come out of the mammoth International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C., such as Martha Stewart or Todd Oldham creating new lines of home furnishings, make perfect sense.
Others, such as Donald Trump or the Olsen twins dabbling in furniture design, do not. But one of the surprise celebrity furniture designer success stories to emerge from the market is Bob Mackie. Yes, the same Bob Mackie who designed Cher’s most outrageous ensembles. Last week, he introduced his third collection of furniture for American Drew at High Point.
Q: Before this collaboration, had you ever attempted to design furniture?
A: Not really. I had a lot of opinions, and that’s about it. But design is design. It’s all about form, shape and scale. Before you know it, you’re talking about the same things. Whether it’s a gown or a bed.
Q: When you first approached designing furniture, did you sit down and sketch like it was fashion?
A: In fashion that’s exactly the way that I do it. But with furniture, we have these long meetings about what we want the furniture to look like, and we start drawing, and then draw some more. During the last meeting, the designers came here, and we went through my embroideries.
All of our inlays in the furniture came directly off of the couture clothes, which was just amazing to me. We have one table that I’m just crazy about. It’s all inlaid pheasant feathers coming out of a circle of black granite in the center.
Q: It’s funny you mention the feather inlay, because I was going to ask if there was ever a temptation for you to design furniture with feathers and rhinestones.
A: Rhinestones, no! And the feathers, I was showing (American Drew designers) some things of mine, and that particular feather just wanted to be inlaid because of the different shades.
Q: Your designs are most often associated with Cher and Carol Burnett. What were some of your favorite pieces that you designed for them?
A: That’s so hard. I did 300 shows with Carol. How can you have a favorite? With Carol, I’d dress her pretty in the beginning of the show so she’d look like the lovely lady who was coming into your house. From there, she could be in one grotesque outfit after another depending on the character. I thought ‘That poor woman.’ If she doesn’t come out looking nice in the beginning, she might never get a chance to look like the lovely lady she is. As far as Cher goes, it was one sight spectacle after another. That’s what they were watching for. Unfortunately, people began to think that I only designed dresses with belly buttons.
